Town offered as sanctuary to refugees

A petition offering Abingdon as a sanctuary to up to 150 refugees has gathered more than 200 signatures.

In total 227 people have so far signed the online petition on campaign website 38degrees.org, calling for Oxfordshire County Council to house evacuees of fighting in the Middle East in Abingdon.

The petition was launched after the drowning of three-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi while trying to reach Europe sparked a wave of public sympathy.

A second petition by Beatrice Hoffman, from Garford near Abingdon, calls for up to 100 families to be housed in the Vale of White Horse and has gathered 135 signatures.

In it Ms Hoffman states: “I am prepared to house up to three refugees in one or two rooms of our house in Garford.

“This is a mainly affluent area, which should make this aspiration easier to fulfil.”

The petition comes as a talk in Abingdon by the director ofthe Asylum Welcome charitydrew in record numbers at the Abingdon Peace Group meeting on Tuesday night.

The Oxford-based charity’s director, Kate Smart, said: “The concept of asylum is simply about saving lives. This government is particularly unsympathetic to asylum seekers. Some of the cases we see are just too awful to talk about.

“Who knew it was going to be such a topical issue and there’d be such interest?”

Asylum Welcome, based in Newtec Place in Magdalen Road, provide support and care for asylum seekers.

The team of 120 volunteerswork with detainees of Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre.

Tuesday’s meeting had been organised three months ago, but recent revelations sparked from the so-called ‘migrant crisis’ meant a crowd of about 50 packed into in The Northcourt Centre in Northcourt Road.

Abingdon Peace Group co-chairman Tony Godfrey, said: “We had no idea how relevant it would be.

“We have all these vivid images presented to us on screen now. We should address this issue with our hearts and our minds.”

Discussion turned to the government proposals for a new immigration bill, which would mean landlords would have to check on the migrant status of their tenants in order to crack down on illegal immigration.

The bill is due to be introduced before the end of the year.

Ms Smart said: “This will affect people as a landlord is likely to just rent to British citizens, rather than go through the work of checking.

“It would also affect tenants who have asylum status. This wouldn’t cut down on immigration.

“I’ve spoken to someone who said if it’s a choice between living in a park in Oxford or on the streets in Kabul, he’d choose the park in Oxford.”